Checking Him Out From the Corner of His Eye
by thecoleaderofgroupb
Summary: AU: Gally is one of the top athletes on the WICKED University wrestling team. At the advice of his coach, he decides to spend some time in the gym doing weight training. Because it was Valentine's Day, he had the gym all to himself. Well, him plus a good-looking blonde from the cross country team.


**Notes**: I am no expert in wrestling – this is written based on what I've seen take place in wrestling. This is the second story in my Valentine's Day themed arc. This is my first story featuring these two.

* * *

He had this ability to block out everything that could possibly distract him during a match – noise from the crowds, movement that came from anything other than his opponent. Newt jokingly called it his "laser focus mode", meaning that everything else was unimportant, except for the guy he was about to shove into the mat until the ref declared him the winner.

Tonight was no different as he secured his helmet strap and rolled his shoulders back a few times. The other guy who was adjusting the straps on his gloves was bigger than some of the other guys he had faced on the mat. Was he nervous? Maybe a little, but he wasn't afraid to work a little harder to secure another victory for his flawless record. He was one of two guys on the wrestling team with a perfect record for this season and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Ready?" the ref asked both of them as they stepped up to the center. "Better not see any foul play here."

Gally nodded sharply and his opponent mumbled that he would play by the rules. They locked eyes with each other and waited for the ref to blow his whistle to start the match. Gally got a grip on the other guy's waist and tried to force him backwards. Meanwhile, his opponent had grabbed him by his shoulders and managed to move Gally backwards a foot or two. Gally dug his heels into the mat, only to find that the guy was still able to push him backwards with little resistance. Then he was shoved backwards and his legs tangled up, forcing him to fall on his behind. The impact hurt – hopefully he hadn't broken his tailbone or anything that would take him out for the rest of the season.

His opponent was on him in a matter of seconds, gripping his shoulders and trying to push them to the mat. Gally gritted his teeth as he lifted a leg and managed to get it between the two, before kicking his opponent back with all his might. His opponent fell on his backside but caught himself before his shoulders touched the mat. Gally wasted no time springing to his feet just as his opponent pushed himself to a standing position, eying him warily. They circled each other for a few moments and the ref warned them to make a move before he called a penalty for stalling. This was enough to make his opponent break from his stance to try to finish the match quickly.

Gally chewed his lip as held his hands up to brace himself against his opponent, who was dashing towards him rapidly. He reached for his opponent's waist once again and crouched lower, which made his opponent hunch over to try to grab him. He allowed his opponent to push him backwards a few more steps, before letting go of his waist and shoving him, face first to the mat. His opponent grunted as his face touched the mat and Gally whirled around and pinned him down, waiting for the ref to count the seconds.

"One…" the ref said.

Gally felt his opponent thrash underneath him and he put all of his weight on the guy to keep him down, without triggering a penalty. The ref watched him for a moment before uttering, "Two."

His opponent tried kicking a leg up into Gally's groin but the ref called, "Three!" before he could carry out his action. Gally sucked in a breath of fresh air and wiped away the sweat beading on his forehead as he moved off his opponent and stepped to the side. The ref identified him as the winner and Gally held his hand out to his opponent. His opponent pushed himself up from the mat and threw him a deadly glare before shaking Gally's hand curtly and storming off the mat in a rage. Gally watched as the guy pushed down some of his teammates as he headed to the visitor locker room to cool off.

"What sportsmanship," Coach Janson replied with a sniff as he watched Gally's opponent leave. "Another great match Galileo. Make sure to ice your injuries tonight."

"Thanks Coach," Gally mumbled as he headed back to the bench. He hated his full name – what shucking idiot named their kid after some dead scientist from way back when? He had tried to get Coach to just call him by his nickname but it had fallen on deaf ears. He didn't know what to make of Coach Janson – sure the shank was good at his job (so good that the wrestling team had won for the past 5 years straight) but he was very rigid and formal. Most of the team called him Coach Rat behind his back because his pinched face reminded them of the creature. But he had to hand it to him – rat-faced, cold, meticulous, he was doing something right if the team had such a good winning streak. Yet, Gally would rather find out that he was diagnosed with The Flare than try to buddy up to the coach any day now.

"Here's an ice pack Gal," Jeff said as he handed over a pack from his medical kit. "Put it on your lower back – looks like you really got thrown around out there."

"Thanks Jeff," Gally said as he accepted it and held it against his back. "How are your classes going?"

"Going well – got a few prep classes ahead for my pre-med test," Jeff said as he zipped his bag shut. "So, ya got any plans for tomorrow?"

"Sleep, get my assignments done for next week, maybe hit the gym," Gally rattled off. "Why?"

Jeff shrugged as he sat back on the bench and leaned his back against the wall. "Well, it's Valentine's Day shank."

Gally shrugged before uncapping his water bottle and taking a long swig from it. "Yeah so?"

"Just askin' man," Jeff said as he held his hands up. "Winston said he's planning something big but it's a surprise." He cast a sideways glance at Gally, who held his hands up and admitted that he knew nothing about the surprise.

"Sorry Shank, but even if I knew, I'd rather get a knife in the chest from Win before I ruined his surprise for ya," Gally admitted as he took another sip of water.

* * *

"Excellent meet tonight," Coach Janson said after they headed back to the locker room. "Now, remember to ice your injuries right away and keep up your personal regiments for diet and exercise. The next meet will be in 2.5 weeks so you should stay focused if you wish to win another meet like this one."

"Yes Coach!" the team said before they split off for the showers or to head home.

Gally slung his bag over his shoulder when Coach caught him and addressed him personally. "Galileo, I would recommend focusing on weight training for the next few weeks in addition to your regular wrestling practice in the studio. The fights in the next meet will likely look more like today's match and if you want to keep a winning record, you're going to want to ensure that you make it harder for your opponents to take you down, even if they dwarf you in size. You understand?"

Gally nodded and promised that he'd start tomorrow night after he took it easy in the morning. Coach nodded sharply before bidding him good night and leaving the locker room.

* * *

"What a gent that slinthead was last night," Newt said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So bloody proud of himself that he refused to lose gracefully or something to that degree."

"Forget him," Gally grumbled as he flipped through his notes. "She's giving us a quiz next week, right?"

"Yup," Newt confirmed as he opened his book to the chapter on Foundations and Skeletons of Buildings. "She didn't say what day, but I'd say probably early to middle of the week. So I'd study now in case she decides to throw it on us outta the blue."

"Good that," Gally grumbled as he read his notes on building sound structures with steel beams and rods in various patterns for specific types of building layouts. "This and I got a Math midterm to study for."

"Hey Math sounds better than my bloody Spanish class," Newt shot back as he ran a hand through his longish, blonde hair. "I'm telling ya, Professor Jorge is all over the place – one moment he's teaching something then the next, he's talking about planes and how he got his bloody plane license. Sometimes…I just wanna tell the shank to bloody teach! I only took Spanish because Tommy talked me into it."

"Oh yeah that reminds me," Gally mused as he closed his notebook. "Gotta tell Thomas that his crouch low and shove maneuver worked perfectly on that slinthead I wrestled last night."

"Yeah I'll see him tonight – I'll tell him that," Newt replied as he looked up from his book.

Gally raised an eyebrow and Newt pushed his Architecture book away. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat.

"Right then," Newt began, "so Tommy, Minho, Alby, and I are going on a double date tonight – miniature golf. Don't ask – Alby chose that and Minho got all riled up saying that he was going to dominate the game and that we better start crying like a bunch of teat-sucking babies now." He shook his head and mumbled that he was over this material before slamming his book shut with a loud thud. "Ya got any plans for tonight?"

Gally shook his head no and began working on some Math problems that would possibly appear on the midterm, according to their teacher. Newt pursed his lips and almost started to ask about Frypan but closed his mouth quickly when Gally threw him a critical glare.

It sucked breaking up with one of his closest friends, especially when they had known each other for a long time. But Frypan had applied to Le Cordon Bleu and had gotten in with flying colors. Prior to that, Gally used to argue with Frypan about letting him cook for him once in a while, but that only upset the budding chef, who accidentally let it slip that he didn't trust Gally to cook a decent meal. Frypan accepting the offer to Le Cordon was the cherry on top and just like that, their relationship was over. He hadn't spoken to Fry in months and Newt kept trying to have them at least patch their friendship up. So far, that hadn't happened. The pain from the break-up worsened when he saw that Frypan had posted pictures of himself with a pretty girl whom he met through his classes. Like him, she was just as obsessed about cooking and was very critical about the taste, presentation, and details of the dishes she cooked. Shuck, she was perfect for him – so much so that it nearly made Gally throw his laptop out the window.

"How much longer ya planning to stay here and study?" Newt asked him as he pulled out his notes from Spanish class.

Gally checked his watch and replied, "About half an hour I'd say. You?"

Newt checked his phone and said that he would probably stay until early afternoon to get caught up on his assignments. "Supposed to meet the Shanks around 4."

"Yeah, I have a presentation to run through with my group for Business and I'm leading the team in the project," Gally said as he shifted in his seat.

"How's this lot?" Newt asked as he put down his pen.

Gally made a face and Newt chuckled lightly before flipping through his Spanish notes intently. The people in his group weren't stupid per se – they just got…easily distracted and often times left the work for someone else to manage. Well, shuck that – maybe Rachel wasn't as hopeless as the others but Gally privately thought that she maybe allowed Aris to tag along one time too much.

* * *

_Breathe Shank_, he told himself as he strode out of the Business department building, refusing to look back. The presentation prep was a disaster – Aris had forgotten some crucial elements that the project guidelines called for in his part and he broke down, frustrated and apologetic that he didn't check sooner. Beth had given Aris a hard time about that, half yelling that he was one stupid Stick and really needed some glasses to help him read better. Rachel had gotten between the two and stood up for Aris while Gally had sat off to the side, muttering that unless they had a miracle, their group was shucked for this project.

It took a few minutes but everyone eventually pulled themselves together and agreed to meet again on Monday with their revisions so they could do a couple of run-throughs. Rachel's material was good – Gally felt that she was the only one in the group that he'd work with again. Beth had been forced to admit that she slacked on getting everything done on her end and Aris mumbled that he'd be at the library today and tomorrow trying to salvage his contribution to the project. _Never working with those two again_.

He arrived back at his apartment he shared with Minho and groaned when he saw that his roommate was wandering around with just a towel on.

"Put some clothes on shuckface!" Gally growled as he threw his backpack on a stool.

Minho smirked and he suggestively wiggled his hips. "Oh c'mon Gal, don't tell me ya weren't checkin' me out like this."

"Sometimes I wonder why you're my shucking roommate," Gally grumbled as he headed to his room to change into his workout clothes.

"Cause I don't nag you like Newt or try to boss you around like Alby," Minho teased as he put on a clean pair of boxers and tossed his towel on the rack in the bathroom. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Working out – last fight was too close," Gally explained as he knotted his sneakers tightly.

Minho threw a shirt on and stuck his head into Gally's room. "What do ya mean by too close? This the same shank that had a perfect record and took down all his opponents without blinking?"

Gally scowled at that last comment and stood up from his bed. He dug around in the closet for a drawstring backpack to stuff his gym stuff and phone into and began loading it. "Yeah well this guy was bigger than me and Coach said I needed to do some weight training so I make it harder on my opponents to push me around."

Minho whistled as he slid his belt through the belt loops on his pants. "Wow, that sounds like a big shank. How close was the match?"

Gally shook his head as he pulled the bag closed and slung the straps over his shoulders. "Too close. …I'm out – have a good night Shank. Oh and if ya bring Thomas home, keep it down, okay?"

"Yes Dad," Minho replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.

* * *

"Hey Gal," Zart greeted him as he entered the campus gym. "Working out tonight?"

"Yeah I am," Gally murmured as he pulled out his ID card and flashed it at Zart.

Zart checked the card and handed it back before pushing the sign–in clipboard towards him. "Ya need to check out any specialty gear?"

"A jump rope for now," Gally said as he checked his watch to enter the time he came in on the clipboard.

Zart nodded as he knelt down and unlocked the cupboard under the desk and removed one jump rope, sliding it across the counter to Gally. "There ya go. Bring it back when you're done, okay?"

"Yeah I will," Gally murmured as he put his backpack into a cubbyhole near the desk. He picked up the jump rope and walked over to the middle of the gym where the mats were. He stretched his arms and legs first before gripping both ends of the jump rope, one handle in each hand, and began jumping at a steady pace to get his heart going. Eventually he picked up the pace, until the rope became a blur swinging around his head and feet with every jump.

He heard the door to the gym open but he forced himself to channel out the distractions as he jumped. _I'll do this for a few more minutes before I grab some weights_, he thought.

"Hey Ben! Long time no see," Zart greeted the blonde who was handing over his ID card. "How's Cross Country?"

"Not bad shank," Ben said as he signed in. He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the jump rope whipping through the air and he stared curiously at the guy jumping. "Wow – someone's on their A–game tonight."

"I'll say," Zart murmured as he watched Gally's rope start to slow down. "Do ya need to check any equipment out?"

"Uh…maybe in a bit," Ben said as he put his stuff in the cubby below Gally's. "I'm gonna warm up and I'll let ya know if I need anything."

"Sounds good," Zart said as he went back to working on his Biology homework.

Gally began to slow his jumping pace down and he stopped, taking a moment to catch his breath and wipe away the sweat beading on his forehead. His calves were stinging but he could hardly feel the burning sensation pulsing through them. He walked over to Zart and passed over the jump rope, thanking him before reaching for his water bottle in his cubby. He took a swig from the bottle and frowned when he saw the blonde doing jumping jacks.

"Hey Zart, who's that?" Gally asked before taking another sip of his water.

Zart looked up from writing an answer to one of the questions on his assignment page and he followed Gally's gaze over to Ben. He grinned widely and replied, "Name's Ben. He's on Cross Country with Minho. …What? Min never mentioned him before?"

Gally shook his head no and mopped up the sweat around his neck with the towel. "All Minho talks about is Thomas. Well that or the fact that homework will kill him before graduation. Never heard him talk about a Ben."

"He's in my French class," Zart said as he clicked out more lead on his mechanical pencil. "Pretty good at it too. Me, I gotta work on my accent."

Gally nodded as he put his water bottle back and scrunched up his towel before chucking it into the cubby. He walked over to the high parallel bars and began doing pull-ups, facing the wall. He let out a deep breath as he came down before breathing in as he pulled himself up for the next rep.

Ben had stopped doing jumping jacks and leaned over to catch his breath. As he straightened up, he took a moment to check out the shank that was doing pull-ups in the far left of the gym. _Not bad_, Ben thought as he skimmed over the guy's legs, up his firm-looking backside, and those broad, strong shoulders.

He wiped his hands on his shorts as he walked over to the nearby parallel bar next to Gally's and started doing pull-ups alongside of him.

Gally had been so focused on doing the pull-ups at the steady pace he had set for himself that he nearly let go of the bar when he heard a voice ask, "What sport you in? Pole Vaulting? Hurdles?"

Gally turned his head to see it was Ben talking to him. He gripped the bar tighter as he continued to pull himself up. "Wrestling actually. Cross-country, right?"

"Yeah with Minho," Ben replied as he matched Gally's pace with the pull-ups. "Hey, what's your name?"

"It's Gally."

Ben tilted his head towards Gally and allowed a small smile to cross his face. "Oh so you're his roommate? Yeah he mentioned that he had a roommate who was a powerhouse at wrestling this season. So, you really have an undefeated record?"

"Yeah I do," Gally replied as he met Ben's eyes. It took a lot of effort to keep doing the pull-ups without stopping to stare at those crystal blue eyes looking back at him. _Shuck, this shank's not bad looking_, Gally thought as he lowered himself down from the bar.

Ben stopped doing pull-ups and he dusted his hands off. "You're in good shape – might be putting me to shame," he said with a slight nod. "Maybe I should train with you instead of Min."

"Why? How does Min train?" Gally asked as he walked closer to Ben.

Ben rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Couple of times he'll push himself to shucking stupid levels – two days ago he wanted to race another shank on the treadmill to see how fast they could go without falling off. The slinthead almost busted his ankle doing that because he was trying to do some ridiculous incline and speed that he's never worked up to."

Gally laughed as he pictured Minho, flushed with a fiery look in his eyes, gripping the sides of the treadmill and doggedly shouting that he wasn't gonna quit until the other shank did. "Sounds like my shucking roommate."

Ben rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around the empty gym. Zart was engrossed in a tricky Bio question and hadn't looked up when the two shanks started talking to one another.

"Umm…so! How much longer were you planning to work out for?" Ben asked after a minute passed.

Gally shrugged before checking his watch. "Maybe for a couple more minutes. Why?"

"Well, did you, I don't know, maybe wanna grab a bite after this?" Ben asked as he met Gally's eyes.

Gally blinked and raised a brow, stunned by what he had heard. "Uhh…are you…asking me out Shank?"

"Oh, it doesn't, it doesn't have to be like that!" Ben stammered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Just thought it would be cool to um, ya know, get to know each other better. After all, we're both kinda stuck with Minho, in one way or another."

Gally looked around the gym and chewed on his lower lip. Was this for real? Did this good-looking runner seriously ask him out? He was flattered, naturally, but he wondered…

"You seriously want to? Or is another shank making you ask me out?" Gally asked as he looked back at Ben.

Ben shook his head no and a small smile crept across Gally's face. "Yeah. Yeah let's do that. But…just a bite to eat?"

Ben blushed and stammered that it could be more than just a bite to eat, if Gally wanted. Gally tilted his head and smirked as he looked at Ben's flushed face. _Aww shuck, he's cute when's embarrassed…_

"Well, only if dinner goes over well," Ben spoke up, a twinkle in his eyes.

Gally held out his hand and Ben shook it. "Looks like it's a deal shank," Gally said. "You're on."


End file.
